Sitting here listening to the howling wind & watching the latest relentless pounding of the sea along the south coast - which I can just about hear from the bottom of the road - on the news, we're in walking distance of The Needles & live with westerly winds but this winter has been one amazing storm after another & they're now forecasting an even stronger one for the weekend.
So far we have been reasonably fortunate & when it starts to get me down just think of those in the Somerset Levels & else where, flooded out or with roofs ripped off.
Hope this finds you battened down for the next incoming storm & not suffering any damage?

So far so good. We live fairly high up in the Cotswolds, luckily also protected by a hill from the wind unless it switches to coming from the north or east.
Feel so sorry for those people that have been so badly affected by flooding in Somerset or on the south and west coast.
Just wish it would stop raining and turn to frosty weather and freeze all the mud.

I was watching the poor farmer tonight on TV.  He had equipment piling up mud to try and make a barrier, but heard on the late news that he failed.  Had to get lorries in to move 550 head of cattle.  Apart from transport costs he'll have bills from the holding centres that he's moved his stock to.  Poor sod, I really felt for him.

I'm a couple of miles away from the expected floods tonight.  I think myself lucky. 

Waves smashing into the sea wall today sending up 50 ft spray.
They closed the sea road.
My favourite public gardens with lots of winter bulbs in flower under 2 ft of sea water.
South pier is getting smashed up and debris all over the beaches and my friend in Hambledon is still living in waders as his village has a river running through it and has for over a month now.

It's getting beyond a joke.
Massive weather systems still rolling in with some belters this weekend.

> Feel so sorry for those people that have been so badly affected by flooding in Somerset or on the south and west coast.

It's pretty much the new Lake District down here. I'm OK where I am but it's very hard to take in how much of the county is flooded unless you know the area. Most people have had to get used to driving through water on the roads, either roads that are covered halfway across or fully across (and you don't know how deep it is).

Our nearest river's level had dropped about 8ft by yesterday afternoon - this morning it was brimming again and about to burst its banks for the third time in a year. Nothing like this in living memory.

http://youtu.be/C4xTTOz2icI

Seems England has bore the brunt of the weather this year, there's been some flooding up here but nothing like you guys are getting.
Fife is just very damp and squidgy.
Hope everyone's ok :)

I've stopped moaning about the mud after watching TV programme about homes flooded with sewage . Our land is just a swamp and lakes overflowing but no flooding and no loss of power -so far. We've got a lot of trees down and the roof is leaking. But dogs are perfectly happy  traipsing through house with muddy paws and bodies and hey ho -a good shake down, splattering walls and furniture with the brown/grey stuff and they're right as ..well..rain ! It's all pretty scary seeing footage of the power of the storms battering the South West . Seems apocalyptic in  fury and impact .

It is funny I was in Glasgow yesterday and the lady I was speaking to was quite chuffed ( not in a nasty way ) that for a change us southerners we getting the rubbish weather.

The flight back to Heathrow was certainly very interesting ! Then the journey back on the M40 was quite dicey more likexazroller coaster ride !

Here in a west oxon we have had a gutful of rain and everywhere is waterlogged.

We are on the N.Cornwall coast and although so far we haven't been flooded, it has been dire.   Sandbags are out in the lower town, and the waves have come over the wall alongside the river that runs out to the sea, several times now.  There were pictures on the local news of some (idiots to my mind but ...) people surfing on the waves coming up the river.  I suppose if you can't beat it, join it, but I'm always concerned for the emergency/rescue services who have to risk their lives to dig these people out when they come unstuck.   I'm just glad I didn't cut the grass low in the autumn.   So far the grass has been a 'mat' but in truth, it's sodden out there.

A breeder in my main breed is on the Levels, with a large number of hounds and again much as so far (may be different now?) her home isn't flooded, she has nowhere to exercise her hounds.   She says the stagnant water is terrible - not only sewage but dead animals floating in it.    Those who love the area might want to live there, but for me, it's always been too low-lying, and gives me the creeps.

Last night with the howling wind and rain lashing against the bungalow, was as bad as ever.  And boy, the sound of the sea which is about half a mile away - horrendous.

In Suffolk it's just rain, wind and generally dreariness, and that's bad enough, I can't imagine what it must be like to have the storms and flooding I've been seeing videos of! :-(

I do feel very sorry for everyone affected by the awful flooding and can understand how upset they must be but what I dont understand is the continual complaining that the government is not doing enough. This weather is exceptional. as people have said it is the worst in living memory. The government cant stop the rain and presumably the land has to drain naturally as there are no pumps that could possibly deal with the vast amounts of water involved.

Why are houses continually being built on land which has a risk of flooding? If the somerset levels is historical flood plain then why are people so surprised that it floods sometimes. Again I can totally understand how awful it must be to have your house flooded but no-one can prepare for conditions that are so far our of the ordinary.

>I do feel very sorry for everyone affected by the awful flooding and can understand how upset they must be but what I dont understand is the continual complaining that the >government is not doing enough

I feel the same :( It's terrible for people losing their homes/businesses - but people do have very unrealistic expectations sometimes :( The government (Cons or Lab) doesn't have a bottomless pit and the money they spend is our money. If people want better protection from the environment, better hospitals, better roads/schools - the list is endless - then we must pay more in taxes. If you don't want to pay more taxes then you just have to accept that there just isn't enough money to do everything. The country's finances are no different to a normal household - you just can't have everything :( Sad but true and, as you say, if you chose to live at a low level or have a nice seaview etc then you are taking a risk :(

> If the somerset levels is historical flood plain then why are people so surprised that it floods sometimes.

They aren't - flooding is expected and indeed welcomed by many farmers for whom it is a regular occurrence.  Historically, flood plains are managed to ensure that they can absorb or hold the flood waters and right across the county we have an extensive networks or ditches, rhynes and grypes to do just that.  Remember that much of the agricultural land in Somerset was reclaimed from marshland by creating these historic watercourses.

Over the last few years there has been less and less money invested by the agencies whose job it is to maintain these watercourses and you will have heard on the news a lot of locals talking about how their rivers are no longer dredged.  You say "presumably the land has to drain naturally" and yes it would do just that if the land were properly maintained.  Farmers are responsible for some aspects of land drainage but the majority is picked up by the Drainage Board and Environment Agencies.  I don't know about you but I'd rather they spent £10 on maintenance and prevention than £50 on the kind of panic action they are taking now.  Although clearly we are talking of scaling these figures up by many thousands. 

Historic water landscapes like the Norfolk Broads and the Somerset Levels make a huge contribution to nature, to tourism, and to agriculture.  In exceptional times areas like this are clearly vulnerable to flooding, and whilst this weather is unusual, local knowledge and science suggests that it is worse this time due to neglect.

Oh and if you ever tried to apply for planning permission in this county you'd know that it isn't easy!

>  I don't know about you but I'd rather they spent £10 on maintenance and prevention than £50 on the kind of panic action they are taking now

Definitely - but where do they get the money from ?? It is like a household on a low income having to borrow money to pay for repairs - how and when are they going to pay the money back ??

The whole issue isn't as simple anyway as, long-term, the effect of global warming and increasing sea levels means that any work that is done now to save low lying areas may well be useless eventually anyway. The money may be far better spent protecting cities/towns where there is a higher level of population and jobs/businesses. It's a very difficult and complex issue and I am very glad that I do not have to make these choices. It's very difficult and distressing for individuals badly affected by this - but governments do also have to look at the long-term issues as well as managing the country's finances :(

Massive new low coming in from the Atlantic tonight and Saturday...loads more wind and RAIN.

Batten down the hatches folks.

I have to totally agree with dogs a babe here.  The clue is 'managed' and 'neglect'.   Which hasn't happened in recent years.  Yes, this weather is extreme and perhaps even with regular dredging etc. there would still be flooding this time.   The area was always marshland but it has been inhabited for generations, based on small self-sufficient hamlets on the higher ground.

Anybody surely knows that it's regular maintenance that's needed, not a panic response when it's all too late.   Right now the water that has come down has nowhere to go.   So it sits becoming more and more poluted, sewage, dead wild animals, you name it.

Farmers do know how to manage their land, but when the weather goes nuts, they also need HELP.   I actually wept watching some poor soul having to move her livestock, including her horses, out on the news last night.   It's ghastly.  And as this may now be a regular event given Climate Change will mean more and more violent, perhaps it's time to consider returning the Levels at least, to nature.

We are in Hampshire and there has been a lot of flooding in towns a little further west.

One problem that has been highlighted is the number of animals that are not looked after well enough, particularly horses. There are so any horses in this region that every patch of land has been used for grazing and some of this is too flood prone to be used all year round. The good owners have of course moved their stock, but I see a lot of equines in paddocks that are more water than grass, close to rivers and likely to get a lot worse.

About 17 horses were moved from Christchurch (Dorset) this week and according to the news, they had to swim through 7 foot of water to reach safety.

I am a horse owner myself and am not having a dig at anyone who looks after their stock well, but in difficult conditions, just the ones who are not taking enough care.

Have a look at this as the poor man is understandably so upset

http://www.itv.com/news/west/update/2014-02-06/a-traumatic-day-for-farmer-james-winslade/

I've been following his story for the last couple of weeks as the flooding inched closer to his farm. Must be an absolute nightmare for him, poor guy.
We had a lot of rain here last night which I suspect also fell in Somerset before it got here. Apparently the floods rose by a metre from yesterday.
Dredging the rivers will help as will clearing the ditches round the fields to keep the water moving off the fields, but it is an area prone to flooding. Quite a large acreage west of Glastonbury has been given over to nature rather then fighting the inevitable.

but where do they get the money from ??

may be contentious but if we didn't send billions of pounds 'aid' to countries that will not feed their own but can afford to build up their military and develop a space programme then the cost of protecting our own would not be a problem.
Charity begins at home!

Well said tatty-ead !

tricky one tatty head but have to agree. If there isn't enough for home we have to make cuts somewhere

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">tricky one tatty ead but have to agree. If there isn't enough for home we have to make cuts somewhere

Agree, sitting here again listening to the next storm coming in, forecast suggesting winds of 70-80 miles an hours & no let up from the rain for the next week or so. Think I could be moving into the back bedroom again to get away from it or dosing myself up with sloe gin to deaden the noise. Batten down the hatches everyone & stay dry.

> Quite a large acreage west of Glastonbury has been given over to nature rather then fighting the inevitable.

That was disused peat works. There's not a lot else you can do with acres of deep water-filled pits left after the peat has been extracted. Even if they were filled in, it wouldn't be suitable for farming.... and you can't build on peat. You can't even walk on it.

I'm not sure that people who live outside the area really have a grasp on this.

>Charity begins at home!

I second tatty-ead

I've spent this evening networking online and trying to get my local community on board to help with donations of food and other necessities to the flood victims, via neighbourhood watch and church groups, also we need volunteers to help in Clarks Village to raise money via the local Lions group, people coming on from outside the region who have seen it on TV could be a good source. It's going to take months not weeks to get the flooded communities back on their feet.

I have lot to live up to - my mum can't participate any more due to her illness, but she was the local Citizen of the Year in 2006, for her work in the community!

> I'm not sure that people who live outside the area really have a grasp on this.

I agree.  If you live with it, like we do, and understand the ways in which flood waters are managed it's hard to appreciate how things have changed in recent years.  We now see rivers and rhynes regularly reaching levels above the norm.  We know that dredging is only part of the solution, but it is an important part that has been neglected in recent years.  It's interesting to read that after an hour spent with local people  Chris Smith has finally announced a plan to dredge the rivers...

It may indeed be contentious, but fact is it's high time the powers that be realised Charity does begin at home, and further realised that when it comes to helping Third World Countries, the UK is fast becoming one, if not already!!!   And I believe there are a huge number of people out there who know this and are already querying this continual outflow of money, when we NEED IT HERE!!!

I've been weeping watching people having to move their stock, horses etc. out off the Levels.   Not knowing when they'll see them again (horses).

I live in Birmingham so not really affected  however I really feel for the people I am seeing on the TV water lapping around there ankles and knees, or wadding through mud. And if there was a vote I am sure the whole country would say no more external aid until we sort our own out. 

The Daily Mail has a petition going on at the moment Kazz which I am about to sign.

I have already signed.
Anyone else notice that when the big houses in the Thames basin started flooding, the military the politicians and uncle tom cobley were all there in 3-4 days. Somerset were flooded for 3/4 WEEKS and still weren't getting the same amount of help.

Mentioned at class on Monday about some 'wedding boutique' owner was b***hing that she had to 'move all my stock upstairs' and that it could take 2-3 months to get sorted once the flood had gone.
I commented that farmers could hardly move 200 sheep/cows upstairs and with damage to grazing, loss of all hay, silage etc and loss of lambs/calves (future breeding stock) with having to sell stock they would be lucky to get sorted in 2/3 YEARS!!!
Person I was talking to genuinely hadn't thought through that far.
ps I am inland in Suffolk and quite dry

Thank you for mentioning the petition, have just signed.

>Anyone else notice that when the big houses in the Thames basin started flooding, the military the politicians and uncle tom cobley were all there in 3-4 days. Somerset were flooded for 3/4 WEEKS and still weren't getting the same amount of help.<br />

Yes, I had noted this too.  It is so maddening.

> Somerset were flooded for 3/4 WEEKS and still weren't getting the same amount of help.

Longer.

The village of Muchelney was cut off before Christmas, and they are into their 7th week of isolation. Last year they were told it happens once in 100 years, so they would be fine from now on. Prince Charles came to see them and then something magically started to happen.

The main A361 road over the moors from here to Taunton was also blocked at about the same time.
But hey, it did the same last year....for 6 weeks....  so no wonder they just thought it would sort itself out by itself....

That photo of the Before and After, of a factory building, is on the A361 - and has gone viral. It's an empty building now, the willow basket manufacturers moved out last year after being flooded out too often - coincidentally, this year marks their 150th year of being in business.

The military and navy turned up yesterday and built flood defences in the town along the River, it hasn't flooded yet.. but the environment agency put the town on high alert and was warning of evacuation perhaps over the weekend. The local ASDA has water coming through the floor like a spring but luckily the builders built it all on stilts so really only the lift and car park is affected.

We are happy as the flood has been tackled here before it actually happens, there are some important buildings that if flooded would affect the whole country, so they have been protected. There are many run off/ overflow rivers that have been dry for at least 10 years that are now this year running with water.

Sadly as you get just outside into the villages they are not faring as well, its sad as many of the houses a few hundred years old. All the farm land is under water but the flood plains here have not been built on so perhaps that might be why minimal damage has been done in the centre of town. Tree's though are littering the roads so are impassible at the moment.

If anybody wants to help by making a donation, The Prince's Countryside Fund helps those who are victims of flooding :

The Prince's Countryside Fund donations

Website